Health Officer Calls For 90% Pesticide Cut - Ban At Schools And Daycares
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Health Officer Calls For 90% Pesticide Cut - Ban At Schools And Daycares
Date:
Tue, 12 Nov 2002 09:01:57 -0500
From:
Stephen Tvedten <steve@getipm.com>
Organization: Get Set Inc. (www.getipm.com)
To: Paul Helliker <phelliker@cdpr.ca.gov>
Director, State of California, Department of Pesticide
Regulation
cc: Christine Whitman whitman.christine@epa.gov
Monday, November 11, 2002 - National Post
Health officer calls for 90% pesticide cut - Ban at schools and daycares
By James Cowan
TORONTO -- The Toronto Medical Officer of Health has proposed a 90% reduction of residential pesticide use in the city over the next three years and a complete ban of their use at schools and daycares.
Dr. Sheela Basrur released the findings of a year-long community consultation on pesticide use in Toronto and her recommendations for reduction goals and implementation.
"It's now time for us ... to protect the health of our residences and the natural environment of our city," Dr. Basrur said on Friday.
"People should be concerned about the long-term, possible health effects of pesticide exposure, not just for themselves but for their children and even for children that have yet to be born. We do know that pesticides have proven harmful to those who use them occupationally, particularly in the agricultural sector and the horticulture sector.''
In a report that will be officially presented to the Board of Health on Nov. 18, Dr. Basrur not only calls for the reduction of pesticide use in homes and schools, but also a 60 per cent reduction at commercial and industrial properties.
To accomplish this goal, Dr. Basrur proposes the formation of Pesticide Reduction Partnership, which would include pesticide retailers, lawn and garden care companies, community groups and government agencies. The partnership would prepare a detailed implementation plan by April, 2003. A bylaw to restrict the outdoor use of pesticides in the city will be part of this plan.
A random phone survey conducted by Toronto Public Health indicates 72 per cent of Torontonians favour a by-law to restrict most outdoor uses of pesticides on public property while 87 per cent support a bylaw restricting their use around schools, daycares and hospitals.
A city councillor said if the Pesticide Reduction Partnership is successful, a bylaw would be redundant.
"It's a bylaw if necessary, but not necessarily a bylaw," said Joe Mihevic.
Representatives of the horticultural industry said they are willing to work with the city to reduce pesticide use, but they believe the city's goals are unrealistic.
"We're not prepared to say 90%. We're prepared to say 50 per cent right off the bat, and then we will work hard to achieve as much reduction as possible -- barring unforeseen infestations," said Tony DiGiovanni, the executive director of Landscape Ontario.
He said a 50 per cent reduction is possible by the implementation of an ''integrated pest-management" program in the city. It would use biological, mechanical and behavioural methods (such as resistant plant varieties and physical barriers) to supplant the use of many pesticides.
While industry members called for less ambitious reduction goals, the Alliance for Pesticide Bylaws called for an immediate ban on pesticide use.
But Dr. Basrur rejected the notion of an immediate ban on pesticide use. "Even if the city implemented a bylaw tomorrow, that would not change the fact that homeowners are accustomed to using chemicals," she said.
"We're really talking about changing a social environment."
© Copyright 2002 National Post
http://www.canada.com/toronto/news/story.asp?id={07E7F7C6-6EC3-45EA-911E-41CBE525593A}
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